Quote Originally Posted by Rondavu
Ugh. Immense success at 6-max is something that transcends starting hand requirements. It's about getting people hooked on hands and draining them with strange straights, trips or two pair. It's about taking deceptive lines that get there. It's about putting people in line or denying value to rocks. It's about knowing how to extract value from a flush, or how to play overpairs efficiently. It's about value betting marginal hands in the right spots. It's about inducing bluffs, and then snapping them off with weak hands. It's often ballz and a tight plan of action. It's a game of balanced lines to supplement unpredictability. It's less about not making a mistake, and more about forcing people into them.

6 Max = Proactive

The bottom line is if you're still thinking about starting hand requirements, you won't make the max from 6-max. If you ever watched me at a 6-max table, you would see me sitting on 7+ buy ins while 3 people bitch about the 7T offsuit I just raised UTG and won a huge pot with. People calling me "lucky", or "fish", while buying in again.
I love this stuff. You're posts are always extremely insightful and I always find myself nodding my head when reading them. Thanks - great stuff.

I took the plunge and had a quick bash at 6max. On the whole I have found the experience quite enjoyable. I've been trapped a few times and one of the hardest things I have found is trying to put my opponent on a hand. On the other hand against the right players you can stack them with simple reads and good strategic play. I like that.

The most important thing I have recognised is that I have to play 6max to become a better player. It shows up all my leaks and magnifies my stupid plays. It makes me more aggressive and as Rondavu said - more proactive.

I've had a little more variance than full ring but I expected it and my bankroll can handle it. Overall when time permits I look forward to racking up a lot more hands and see how I fair.